Andy Murray has three-word response after legacy tennis centre scrapped

Sir Andy Murray has expressed his disappointment after plans for a tennis centre near his home town of Dunblane were scrapped.

The British sporting hero’s mother, Judy, had been leading the charge to build a £20million community multi-sport facility at nearby Park of Keir to mark the Murray family’s tennis legacy.

Despite the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) pledging £5m to the project, it faced strong opposition from campaigners, who said it should not be built on green belt land.

And a spokesperson for Judy’s charity, the Murray Play Foundation, has announced that the plan will be unable to go ahead in its current form.

A statement read: “Over 12 years, Judy has invested significant time and encountered indifference and opposition for much of that period.

“However, she and her team persevered until several factors conspired to leave the project unviable in its current form.

“We no longer plan to seek a detailed planning consent on the site at Park of Keir.”

Among the factors behind the decision, the statement cited: “Significant increases in construction, material, energy and labour costs, a lengthy and uncertain planning process, and protracted discussions with governing bodies.”

Sir Andy, who retired from tennis following the Paris Olympics earlier this summer having won three Grand Slam singles titles and two Games gold medals in a stellar career, reacted to the news on social media.

He reposted a BBC article sharing the update on X alongside the comment: “What a surprise,” followed by an ‘eye-roll’ emoji.

The recently-abandoned project had been a long-time goal of Judy’s, who had previously won an eight-year planning battle to build the complex south of the Scottish town Dunblane at the end of 2021, before ongoing resistance to the plans saw it scrapped.

Despite the disappointment, a spokesperson added: “The Murray family is proud of what they have contributed to tennis in the UK and remain committed to growing the game and persuading governments, sports governing bodies and others of the significant health, social and economic benefits that flow from sustained investment in sport and physical activity.”

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The charity said it would now consider other initiatives to provide opportunities for people, ‘particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds’, to pursue sport, fitness and physical activity.

The proposed facility would have included tennis, padel and pickleball courts, forming part of the wider project which was also set to feature a new luxury hotel and major housing development.

Among the significant opposition to the Park of Keir development was Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell, who has welcomed the latest decision.

He said: “I am proud the local community has stood up and protected Park of Keir.

“This area is the jewel in the crown of our greenbelt that stretches from Dunblane to Bridge of Allan, and it’s important that landscape has been saved.

“At the heart of this project was an exclusive luxury housing development that would have been damaging to the local landscape and would have eroded ancient woodlands and crucial greenbelt land.”

Despite this, Ruskell remained hopeful that a legacy for Sir Andy and his family’s success could still be built in Scotland.

His older brother, Jamie, is also a seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion.

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Ruskell continued: “We all want to see a fitting tennis legacy for Andy Murray across Scotland.

“But building an inaccessible private sports centre, reliant on public funding, in a location that has very little local support was never going to end well.”

“I hope that Sport Scotland, the LTA and other parties can re-focus on delivering a Murray legacy in communities across the whole of Scotland. People are crying out for better sports facilities in the communities where they live and they deserve them.”